‘You will be prosecuted.’ Eagle adds no fireworks zone with a warning

Eagle City Council members Tuesday unanimously approved new restrictions on the use of fireworks in areas at extreme risk for wildfire. The vote came with a warning for Ada County residents.

While adding new restrictions on fireworks in the Foothills above Eagle and around the Eagle Sports Complex, city officials reminded residents that using illegal fireworks this summer could have catastrophic consequences.

Mayor Brad Pike, who served as a fire captain with the Santa Clara County Fire Department in California before moving to Idaho, acknowledged there is no stopping the celebration in Eagle but warned residents to follow the law.

“We want to enjoy especially the 250th celebration, but it’s not like we’re stymieing any safe-and-sane fireworks — just don’t shoot bottle rockets into the Foothills,” Pike said. “But again, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if you’re caught.”

City Council's message to residents is clear: Don't light any fireworks at all in the Foothills, big or small. If residents want to use smaller ground-based fireworks in areas not marked on the new map, they're still free to do so, and aerial fireworks remain illegal throughout Idaho.

Eagle’s new restriction focuses on a wildland-urban interface overlay district encompassing the Foothills north of Beacon Light Road between Idaho 16 and Idaho 55. The ordinance was amended to include the area surrounding the Ada-Eagle Bike Park south of Beacon Light Road to Hill Road.

In 2021, the Goose Fire burned more than 440 acres, including the bike park.

The addition was recommended by Pike and approved unanimously by council members.

Ada County commissioners last week voted, 2-1, to prohibit fireworks in unincorporated Ada County — areas outside the city limits of Boise, Meridian, Garden City, Kuna, Eagle and Star.

Eagle has not held an official fireworks celebration since 2024, when the show was launched from Eagle High School. In 2025, the school required the city to purchase an insurance policy costing between $75,000 and $90,000 for a fireworks display that would have cost about $25,000, according to Laura Williams, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office.

“We’re in a sticky situation where we just don’t have a space for fireworks, and we wish we were in the same position as Star, but we’re not,” Williams said, referring to Eagle’s neighbor to the west, which hosts a fireworks show at Freedom Park.

In 2023, a fireworks show was held at Eagle Island State Park. But after construction began on an RV campground in 2024, Williams said the site was no longer an option.

In years past, fireworks were launched from rodeo grounds near the Albertsons on State Street, but that area has since been developed.

“I know a neighboring city, they’re spending like six figures just on their fireworks show,” council member Mary May said. “It’s going to be lit for sure.”